Obiter Dicta Issue 6 - November 17, 2014 - Page 16

OPINION
16 Obiter Dicta
Human rights
» continued from page 7
to represent the journey towards greater recognition
and protection of human rights. While structurally
beautiful, the association of darkness with ‘bad/backwards’, and lightness with ‘good/forwards’ is a troubling one, especially for a human rights museum.
The second last exhibit showcases Canada’s military for “Protecting Human Rights Abroad”. We are
as a group mostly shocked by the placement of this
exhibit (albeit, a temporary one) so near the ‘pinnacle’
of human rights achievement.
The tour ends up in the building’s glass pinnacle,
the “Israel Asper Tower of Hope”. From high in the
tower, we gaze down at the Winnipeg streets, sprawling outwards. From this height you can’t see it, but if
you walk the streets on the ground, the class divide
between white people and First Nations peoples in
Winnipeg is stark.
This beautiful, enormous, powerful stone building.
Who is it for?
t humbs UP
Toronto’s win over the Orlando Magic. A win’s
a win, right?
Mentoring Artists for Women’s Art (MAWA)
At the end of our first day in Winnipeg, we walked
from the museum to MAWA for a public performance
by Julie Lassonde with the theme of domestic violence. Julie introduced us to her creative process with
a workshop before our trip, a talk prior to her performance, and a Q&A following. In performing her
piece, “Permission”, Julie used sound and movement
to express a story of trauma, survival, and transcendence. To me, she communicated to us an important
emotional narrative that was missing at the museum.
The Winnipeg Indian and Metis Friendship
Centre
Visiting the IMFC was a highlight of the trip for many
of us. It was a privilege to be able to meet with three
Anishinaabe First Nations people – IMFC executive
director Jim Sinclair, Ted Fontaine (author of Broken
Circle: The Dark Legacy of Indian Residential Schools),
and Ko’ona Cochrane (an Idle No More activist) living
in Winnipeg. We were privileged to hear their stories
of residential school abuse and discriminatory treatment in the child welfare system and legal system,
and to learn about the struggle to restore their collective cultural identity. It was at times uncomfortable
for some of us, which I think was probably just right.
I think we should feel uncomfortable when hearing
about Canada’s treatment of First Nations peoples.
Julie Lassonde performed again, on the stage at
the IMFC. Her piece was based on a Nanabush story
recounted in John Borrows’ Recovering Canada: The
Resurgence of Indigenous Law. Throughout her piece,
she worked through the idea of struggling to find balance when doing emotionally charged human rights
work.
Experiential education
This trip allowed us to meet directly with the people
we seek to serve. It allowed us to connect as a group
and build collective strength. I felt how strong we
were together as a group.
Social change largely happens through collective
action, and so this is why I think it’s so important that
we find ways to foster community collaboration at
Osgoode. Because that’s what so many of us are here
ê Above: In the gallery “Protecting Rights in Canada”, xurator Armando Perla shows us a moving projection that illustrates the “living tree” doctrine of Canadian constitutional law. Below: Walking Winnipeg’s streets.
Photo credit: Eriq Yu
for – to learn how to spur social change. But coming
back to school, I suddenly noticed how separate we
can be at school. When I walk around the halls, I have
the feeling like I’m on a racetrack, and while we’re all
racing towards a common goal, we’re racing against
each other. A lot of us want the same things for our
society and for our school, but we can feel so alone in
our pursuit of it. There are unwritten rules, laws you
could say, that guide our actions and drive us to feel so
separate at school.
Perhaps we could think about changing the m. u